Augmented Reality is the Future of Gaming

Augmented reality in video games has not had much time to enter pop culture, but many analysts are already jumping the gun to say that it could be the future of gaming. The ability for games to morph real life and provide a unique user-experience is something most believe to be the final frontier.

This technology has been used primarily as a tool for advertisers, and augmented reality apps are becoming more common with every passing fiscal quarter. Many companies, for example GravityJack.com, have started up in order to meet this need. It is likely more companies will continue to open as, in 2013, the industry expects to generate $300 million, according to Juniper Research’s study “Mobile Augmented Reality: Entertainment, LBS & Retail Strategies 2012 – 2017.”

AR Making a Big First Impression

While 3D and motion gaming are just now hitting the scene, augmented reality in games could be the next big thing to take off. In reality, nothing has really changed since the early years of the Atari and ColecoVision and today’s Xbox Kinect are built on that technology. While motion gaming has added some movement into the mix, augmented reality games could add an entirely different experience to the video game world.

Mobile gaming is an area of the video game market that is growing at an exponential rate, and this is where augmented reality could come into play. With the tools on the smartphones that are available today, some companies have already begun developing these games; two notable examples are AR Defender and Paranormal Activity, both for iPhone/Pod. but they are only a small sampling of what we could see in the future.

Moving Forward

The first place where we could begin to see some real augmented reality games is on the Android platform. Google is currently working on their Project Glass, which is a smartphone attachment that will cover your eyes while you walk around during the day. You will be literally working in an augmented reality when you use these glasses. If augmented reality is actually going to make an impact on the world, then we should be able to see signs of that impact shortly after Project Glass is released to the general public. It would be amazing to be able to play a virtual game of laser tag with your friends while you are actually moving around in the real world. This could take a number of different first person shooters to the next level.

We will have to wait and see what ultimately happens with the world of gaming and augmented realities, but the future definitely looks interesting for right now. Hopefully it will not be too long before we are all kicking around a virtual soccer ball in a game of FIFA 2016.